Pilot
by robinainthood
Summary: Four months after the tragic car accident that killed their parents, Elena Gilbert and her brother, Jeremy are still trying to move on with their lives. As the school year begins, Elena is fascinated by a mysterious new student, Stefan Salvatore.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _Okay, so before you read on, let me just clear one thing up. **THIS IS NOT AN ON-GOING SERIES**. I will NOT be writing the entire TVD series from start to finish. It takes too long and, while I enjoy doing it, I can't make it my unpaid day-job. I'm really sorry if this lets you down in any way. Don't lose all hope, though! I do plan on doing something like this again, maybe an episode with lots of Delena scenes, I don't know. Honestly, I wrote this last year with every intention of doing the whole show but that's just unrealistic. But I wanted to post this because I DID put a lot of effort into it and I enjoyed writing it! Also, I finished it tonight having not even so much as looked at it since I started it last year, so it gets a bit lazy at the end. :P_

 _It's also NOT an AU of any kind, it's literally the episode word for word. I'm not even kidding, I pulled up the 1x01 Transcripts and the pilot ep. on Netflix and wrote it! The dialogue is credited to all TVD writers, but the narration is all me._

 _Thanks so much for checking it out, and if you'd like to be notified for when I DO post another like this (don't expect it_ too _soon, though), then just follow the story and wait! Thanks again! Happy reading!_

* * *

 _Prologue_

 _For over a century I have lived in secret; hiding in the shadows, alone in the world. Until now. I am a vampire. This is my story._

Outside Mystic Falls, a young couple speed down the damp road, woods surrounding them in the dead of night. The sky is dark, clouds forming slowly above the trees, the faint sound of a whistling breeze cutting through the crack of the window. Silversun Pickups' "Sort Of" plays on the radio while Captain of the football team Darren Malloy sits in the passenger seat, burning with amusement.

"An hour's drive to hear that crap. You know, it wasn't even a band. A guy with a guitar. An hour each way." He complains, eyes fixed on the road. His girlfriend, Brooke, rolls her eyes at his remark, a smile glued to her lips.

"He wasn't that bad."

"He sounded like James Blunt."

"What's wrong with that?"

"We already have a James Blunt. One's all we need."

"Then why did you come?" He pauses for a second, then smiles to himself.

"Because I love you." He says simply, averting his eyes from the road to look Brooke in the eyes for just a moment, then quickly turns his attention back to driving. His intention was to make her laugh, but he couldn't ignore the fact that he really meant it.

"Nicely done." She laughs, staring out the window into the darkness. The same clouds that formed in the trees seem to have made their way to the ground, blanketing the truck as well. "What's with all the fog?" Brooke looks puzzled, as does Darren, but he remains calm.

"It'll clear in a second." He reassures her, narrowing his eyes in an attempt to see through the endless layers of gray ahead of him. For a while, the fog doesn't clear. Instead, the headlights of Darren's truck reveal a silhouette of what looks like a man, and Brooke's heart races in panic.

"Watch out!" She screeches, but her warning was too late. The head of the car crashes into the man before Darren slams on the brakes, causing the truck to swerve uncontrollably. When the truck halts, Darren's breath catches in his throat as Brooke's breath has no trouble leaving and entering her body in a rush of emotions.

"Are you okay?" He observes her face, making sure there are no injuries.

"We just hit someone! Oh my God!" She cries, looking frantically around.

"Call for help." Darren orders, unbuckling his seatbelt as he rushes to the back of his car. The man lies still on the pavement, arms and legs stretched out next to him. Darren rushes to his side, panicking himself. "Please be alive. Oh my God." He looks at the man's face to see lidded eyes, then before he can grasp what happens next, the man's eyes flick open. Darren stares in astonishment as his face transforms, almost demonically, and the man lunges at Darren, sinking his teeth into his neck.

"Come on, come on!" Brooke continues to panic in the car as she struggles to call 9-1-1. "There's no signal!" She rushes out of the truck and into the fog, looking frantically around for her boyfriend. "Darren!" It seems as though the fog gets thicker rather than thinner, and with it, Brooke's anxiety. "Darren?" Her heart grows anxious with fear as the deafening silence engulfs her, dragging itself through the darkness. Sweat forms under her arms and her body begins shaking involuntarily when Darren's body drops abruptly on top of the car hood, and Brooke feels as though she's never seen anything like it. His throat is ripped from the inside out and blood gushes gruesomely from his neck. Brooke screams in fear and runs in the other direction, feeling as though she may have a heart attack. But before she can make it very far, she feels cold, hard hands grip her upper arms as they grab her into the night.

 _I shouldn't have come home. I know the risk. But I had no choice. I have to know her._

 _Chapter 1_

 _Dear Diary,  
_ _Today will be different. It has to be. I will smile, and it will be believable. My smile will say "I'm fine, thank you." "Yes, I feel much better." I will no longer be the sad little girl who lost her parents. I will start fresh, be someone new. It's the only way I'll make it through._

Elena's pen stops writing as her eyes lift to her window, looking out at the front yard of her house. She knows the words in her notebook aren't true, but she hopes that maybe if she says them enough, she'll start to believe them herself.

Getting up from her window seat, Elena stands in front of the vanity and looks into her reflection. At first, all she sees is exactly who she didn't want to be anymore. Exactly who she said she wouldn't be. So she forces a smile, practicing the foreign expression on her face. However, when her eyes shift toward the pictures of her parents hanging on the mirror, her mood changes again. She averts her eyes, tears brimming yet again, and all she can think is that she can't let this get to her. Not now. So with one more forced smile in her reflection, Elena swings her bag over her shoulder and heads downstairs.

"Toast. I can make toast." Elena's aunt, Jenna, offers from the fridge, desperately looking for something to make for breakfast.

"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna." Elena says as she pours herself a cup of the warm drink. Jeremy walks into the kitchen soon after, interjecting the conversation.

"Is there coffee?" He asks, walking to Jenna's side.

"Your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared. Lunch money?"

"I'm good." Elena replies before Jeremy snatches the money from Jenna's hand and stuffs it into his own pocket.

"Anything else? A number two pencil? What am I missing?"

"Don't you have a big presentation today?" Elena asks, amused by her frantic anxiety.

"I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at … now. Crap!" Jenna checks her watch, then quickly removes the hair tie from her hair, letting her dirty blond locks drape onto her shoulders.

"Then go. We'll be fine." They each exchange glances before Jenna leaves, and Elena's attention turns toward her little brother, washed with feelings of concern. "You okay?" She asks softly.

"Don't start." Jeremy retorts, annoyance dripping in his voice. He rolls his eyes as he follows close behind Jenna, taking one last sip of his coffee. Elena sighs in exasperation, wishing she could help Jeremy feel better than she does. She knows that with everything that's happened in the past few months, he's been spiraling, but he won't let her help him. She takes a long sip of her coffee, washing the warmth down her throat in a gulp of relief. Behind her, the TV displays a young couple who have gone missing, names Darren Malloy and his girlfriend Brooke.

"So Grams is telling me I'm psychic. Our ancestors were from Salem, witches and all that," Bonnie looks at Elena who looks at Bonnie as if she's crazy, "I know, crazy, but she's going on and on about it, and I'm like, put this woman in a home already! But then I started thinking, I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands. . .Elena! Back in the car."

Elena averts her attention from the road to the side of her and returns her attention to Bonnie instead, who has an amused smile on her face.

"I did it again, didn't I? I-I'm sorry, Bonnie. You were telling me that …"

" _That_ I'm psychic now." Her face gleams with pride as she looks out the window, but Elena is still skeptical.

"Right. Okay, then predict something. About me." Bonnie smiles and looks at Elena.

"I see …" But before Bonnie can say anything, a small black figure hits the windshield and in a panic, Bonnie hits the brakes as the car swerves to the side.

"What was that?" Bonnie panics, looking out Elena's window. "Oh my God …" She falls back onto her seat and sighs, then looks back to Elena.

"Elena, are you okay?"

"It's okay. I'm fine." She reassures her friend, flashing a slight smile.

"It was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere." She quickly defends herself, but Elena just shakes her head.

"Really, I … can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life." Elena reassures her again, and this time, Bonnie relaxes.

"I predict this year is going to be kick ass. And I predict all the sad and dark times are over and you are going to be beyond happy." Elena smiles at this, pondering her best friend's words. Perhaps she's right. If she's going to move on from everything, she'll have to believe that what Bonnie is saying will be true. And without another thought, Bonnie restarts the car and drives to school. When they arrive, they observe the other students in the hallway, making remarks to each other.

"Major lack of male real estate. Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beech. She looks like a hot — can I still say 'tranny mess'?" Elena pretends to think about it, amused by Bonnie's question.

"No, that's over." She says smiling, watching Bonnie open her locker.

"Ahh, find a man, coin a phrase. It's a busy year." Bonnie says, then Elena notices something catch her attention. Confused, she turns to see what she could possibly be staring at like that, then she sees for herself. Her hunky ex-boyfriend, Matt, stares coldly at her, paralyzed next to his locker across the hall. Elena waves politely at him, smiling sadly at him, but he ignores her gesture and slams his locker shut before walking in the other direction.

"He hates me." Elena states when she turns back to Bonnie, completely convinced that what she did to Matt ruined any friendship they may ever have. Bonnie shuts her locker as well, turning her attention to Elena.

"That's not hate. That's 'you dumped me , but I'm too cool to show it, but secretly I'm listening to Air Supply's greatest hits'." She gives her friend a reassuring smile as a skinny, blond girl with porcelain skin rushes over to Elena's side.

"Elena, oh my God. How are you?" Before anyone can react, Caroline engulfs Elena in an uncomfortable hug, and Elena has no trouble showing it. However, she remains polite and shows appreciation for her friend's concern. "It's so good to see you." She nods assuringly as she pulls away, looking Elena in the eye. "How is she? Is she good?" Caroline asks Bonnie softly, seemingly forgetting Elena's presence.

"Caroline, I'm right here." Caroline's attention turns back to Elena, and she smiles politely. "And I'm fine. Thank you."

"Really?" She pries. Elena remembers the words she'd written in her journal this morning before school, and jumps at the opportunity to use them.

"Yes. Much better." She confirms. Caroline wraps Elena in another hug, whispering softly, "Oh, you poor thing.", before bidding the two girls goodbye and walking away. Elena turns to Bonnie as they begin walking away, and she shakes her head.

"No comment. I'm not going to say anything." Bonnie giggles at this, but they both know that Caroline means well.

* * *

"Don't take more than two in a six hour window." Outside of the high school, Jeremy drops a couple of little white pills into the hand of Vicki Donovan, his nails painted black and chipped at the ends. Vicki pops them in her mouth with a smile on her face as Jeremy watches intently, then a man walks up to both of them, his attention directed at only one.

"Hey, Vicki," he says, "I knew I'd find you here with the crack heads." Jeremy rolls his eyes as Vicki greets him, wrapping her arms around his body. He takes a hit of the joint in his hand, and his nails catch Tyler's attention.

"Hey, Pete Wentz called. He wants his nail polish back."

"Pete Wentz, huh?" The smoke escapes Jeremy lips as he speaks, wafting in the air around the three teenagers. "How old school T.R.L of you. Carson Daly fan?" Tyler starts to move toward Jeremy angrily, his temper always getting the best of him, but Vicki's hand stops him.

"Oh Ty," she says, holding him back, "be nice. That's Elena's little brother."

"I know who he is." Tyler says grumpily, turning to face Vicki who has pulled him closer to her face. "I'll still kick his ass." He says this to impress her, to amuse her, and it works. Vicki laughs, sliding her hand to the back of his head and pushing her lips to his. Jeremy shifts uncomfortably, his mood saddening at the sight of the girl he wants kissing another guy. Kissing the guy he resents. He looks away, not wanting to see them share affection in front of him.

* * *

Bonnie and Elena continue to walk down the hallway, when Bonnie's attention turns toward the Attendance Office.

"Hold up," she says, halting their walk in front of the door, "Who's this?" Elena looks with her, but doesn't recognize the man either.

"All I see is back." She says simply.

"It's a hot back." Bonnie says, causing Elena to giggle.

"Your records are incomplete," the secretary at the desk says, eyeing the man's papers, "You're missing immunization records, and we do insist on transcripts." The man removes his sunglasses, looking intently into the lady's eyes as she looks up at him.

"Please look again." He says, mesmerizing the woman. Her face falls blank and she is focused completely on his words. "I'm sure everything you need is there." The woman looks back down at the papers that still rest in her hand, then shuffles through them.

"Well, you're right. So it is." She smiles, but it's not genuine, and lacks any emotion. It's an obedient smile. A smile that is forced, a smile that is controlled.

"I'm sensing … Seattle," Bonnie predicts, still fixated on the Mystery Man in the leather jacket in front of them, "and he plays the guitar." Elena laughs amusingly.

"You're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?"

"Pretty much." They both laugh, but Elena's amusement soon fades when she sees Jeremy walk into the boys' bathroom after being thanked for drugs.

"I'll be right back." She sighs in exasperation as Bonnie never takes her eyes off of the man in the Attendance Office.

" _Please_ be hot." She mumbles to herself, anxiously waiting for him to face her when he walks out.

In the bathroom, Jeremy is using eye drops to dull the redness, when Elena barges in. A man walking out of one of the stalls mumbles, "whoa", but she pays no mind. She snatches her little brother's face and checks his eyes, disappointed in his behavior, but not surprised.

"Great. It's the first day of school and you're stoned." Jeremy rolls his eyes, something he's grown very good at, and looks at Elena.

"No I'm not."

"Where is it? Is it on you?" Elena begins frisking him, making him uncomfortable and very annoyed.

"Stop, all right? You need to chill yourself, all right?"

"Chill myself? What is that, stoner talk? Dude, you are so cool." She says sarcastically, still searching his pockets and feeling in his shirt. Jeremy grows impatient as she continues to search him.

"Look, stop! I don't have anything on me. Are you crazy?"

"You haven't seen crazy, Jeremy! I gave you a summer pass, but I am done watching you destroy yourself." Jeremy rolls his eyes and attempts to walk away, but Elena's hand stops him, pushing him back against the sink. "No, no, no, you know what? Go ahead. Keep it up. But just know that I am going to be there to ruin your buzz every time, you got it?" Elena's anger subsides as another student flushes the toilet and walks out of the bathroom. She sighs, wishing that this could be the last Elena Gilbert Speech that she'll have to give. "Jeremy, I know who you are. And it's not this person. So don't be this person."

"I don't need this." He spits angrily, brushing past his sister and walking away. Elena stares at the closed door sadly, hoping that if she opens it, it may lead her back home where her parents will be waiting to make everything better again. Unfortunately, when she opens the door, she's brought back to the reality of a crowded hallway.

When she makes it out of the bathroom, she bumps into someone, and is awestruck by his appearance. She knows she's never seen him around before, so he must be knew. Then it hits her - he's the one that she and Bonnie were eyeing outside the Attendance Office. She can't help but feel small under his intense gaze, his green eyes boring into her brown ones.

"Uh, Pardon me," he says, and his voice is husky and low, "Um … is this the men's room?" He asks her, holding back a smile. Elena mentally slaps herself in embarrassment, looking at the men's room door and back to the man in front of her.

"Yes. Um, I was just, Um - I was just -" She swallows hard, fighting to find the right words to say. Should she tell the truth, or lie? "It's a long story." She laughs nervously, his intense gaze growing even more intense, but he smiles politely and nods as if he understands. Just as Elena tries to rush away from the humiliating moment that is her life, she shifts to one side, but the man is also moving that way. They both stop in their tracks, and then move the other way. Elena lets out yet another nervous laugh, then the man moves to one side, giving Elena enough space to pass. He stretches his arm in the direction in which he expects her to walk, and she breathes a _thank you_ as she steals one last glance at him before walking around the corner.

Mr. Tanner's History class drags out boringly, and with the mystery man in her class - whose name she had learned was Stefan - it was hard to pay attention to the teacher. She couldn't help but look behind her, slowly but surely trying to make eye contact with him. Once she had, she suddenly felt shy again, and looked away smiling to herself. Stefan smiled as well, unable to keep his eyes off of her, but not the only one. Matt shot quick glances at Elena as well, and grew jealous at Stefan and Elena's constant glances and smiles. Bonnie noticed Stefan's stares as well, and pulled out her phone to tell Elena of the good news. Elena smiled at her phone, thinking of only one person; Stefan Salvatore, her mind finally wandered away from the only thing she's thought about all summer.

After school, Elena walks to her sanctuary, her safe haven, the one place she's found solace since her parents' death; the cemetery. Every day since the accident, she's come here for comfort, writing in her journal as she leans on her parents' grave.

It's a beautiful day out. The sun shines beautifully, highlighting Elena's hair in streaks of brown and gold. Her eyes glimmer in the sun as well, and the warmth is a comforting temperature, complimented with a slight breeze. The leaves are beginning to fall, a beautiful shower of green, yellow, red and orange. Elena couldn't think of a better place to be.

 _Dear diary,  
_ _I made it through the day. I must have said, "I'm fine, thanks," at least thirty-seven times. And I didn't mean it once. But no one noticed. When someone asks, "How are you?" They really don't want an answer._

Elena looks up from her journal and at the gravestone in front of her that reads, " **In Memory: Grayson Gilbert & Miranda Sommers Gilbert - May 23, 2009 - Loving Parents**". She smiles sadly, reminiscing on all of the good memories she had with them, and even recalling some of the bad ones. She used to come here and cry, but now, she's grown past the sorrow. Now, she's able to accept and remember. She has to.

Abruptly, a black bird - a crow - lands onto the gravestone and screeches at Elena, eyeing her in a way that seems almost human-like.

"Okay, hi bird." She says to the crow, hoping this will cease its endless hawking. "That's not creepy or anything." She mumbles to herself, and continues to write in her journal. Then suddenly, a growing fog begins to engulf her - a fog she's never encountered before, at least at the cemetery. She looks around nervously as the fog continues to grow, and the crow continues to hawk. Elena finally decides to get up from her spot in the dirt and confront the crow.

"Shoo!" She shouts, waving it away from the gravestone. Its wings stretch out as it flutters into the sky, slowly fading into the clouds. "That's what I thought." But when she turns back around to get her bag, the crow is resting on a statue as it hawks at her repeatedly again. Elena jumps in shock, confused as to how it had gotten there so fast. Bending slowly down, she retrieves her bag from the ground, watching the crow intently, then walks in the other direction. She notices the crow flutter away again, and feels a sudden anxiety as though someone is watching her. She looks behind her repeatedly, thinking she's caught a glimpse of a silhouette of a man, and begins running away from the cemetery. Her heart is racing with every pounding step she takes, and just her luck, her foot catches on a branch and twists to the side as she falls to the ground. She yelps, not so much in pain but in frustration, and begins backing up. When she turns to run again, she's face to face with Stefan Salvatore, just as mysterious and intimidating as before.

"You okay?" He asks her, his eyes focused on her. Elena sighs in relief and nods.

"Were you following me?" She asks him, hoping the answer is no. If he had been following her, he did a great job at scaring her to death.

"No. I-uh-I just - I saw you fall." He defends himself, pointing to the spot under a tree that Elena had previously fell under. She nodded again, only this time, she'd been a little creeped out.

"Uh huh, and you just . . . happened to be in a cemetery."

"I'm visiting," he confirms, "I have, uh, family here." After hearing this, Elena felt a sudden guilt wash over her, and she mentally slapped herself for the second time today.

"Oh. Wow. Tactless. I'm sorry. It's the fog, It's making me foggy. And then back there, there was this - this bird, and it was all very Hitchcock for a second. That is the bird movie, right, the Hitchcock?" Elena stops herself and laughs the moment off, realizing how ridiculous she must sound to him. "I'm Elena." She smiles radiantly. He smiles as well, finding her ranting to be very amusing.

"I'm Stefan."

"I know. We have History together."

"And English and French." She looks at him curiously, surprised that he had even noticed her.

"Right." She says. Stefan seems to notice something in Elena's hair, and he reaches forward to peel a leaf from the brown strands, smiling in the process. Elena smiles back, falling instantly for his.

"Thanks." He lets it all from his fingertips onto the ground beneath him, the same smile on his lips. She watches his movement, from her hair, to his side, his fingers opening. A ring, big and bulky, hugs his middle finger. It's blue with some sort of design on the gem, but she can't make it out from her distance. "Nice ring."

He brings it closer to his view, twisting it nervously on his finger.

"Oh, um, it's a family ring." He beams at her, unable to look away from that face that he knows too well. "Yeah, I'm kind of stuck with it. It's weird, huh?" He half expects her to agree, almost embarrassed by a ring he's worn his entire life.

"No, no. It's just, I mean, there are rings and then there's . . . _that_." She lets out a breathy chuckle as she points to the ring, which Stefan nervously twists yet again. She smiles at him, caught in Stefan Salvatore's gaze. His smile gives her butterflies, but that same smile abruptly drops for reason's she'll never understand.

"Did you hurt yourself?" He asks.

"Hm?"

"Did you hurt yourself?" He repeats, more sternly this time.

"Oh, uh, I don't know." She walks over to rock and positions her leg on top of it, pulling up her pant leg to reveal a large gash in her calf, blood gushing and running down from it. "Oh! Would you look at that. That is not pretty." She laughs, looking back to Stefan, who she's noticed has turned away from her. He stares in the other direction, the blood in his veins burning and his head churning with desire. "Are you okay?" She asks him cautiously, never looking away from him. He closes his eyes, already beginning to feel them change. He swallows hard, trying to gulp back the intensity, and feels his breath catch in his throat.

"You should go. Take care of that." Elena tugs her pant leg back down, tucking her golden brown locks behind her ear.

"Really, it's nothing." She smiles, but when she turns back to look at him, he's vanished.


	2. Chapter 2

_I lost control today. Everything I've kept buried inside came rushing to the surface. I'm simply not able to resist her._

"Hey Vick." Jeremy smiles as he approaches the brown-haired girl from behind. She glances at him as she takes a plate from the counter.

"Working." She drags, strutting away and toward her next table. Jeremy rolls his eyes and sighs, watching Vicki swing her hips from side to side as she walks away.

When she reaches her table, she smiles at both Matt and Tyler.

"Thanks, Vick." Matt says, immediately chowing down on his meal. She smiles, turning to Tyler as she sets his plate down in front of him.

"Do you need another refill." She asks amorously. Tyler returns the flirty behavior with the slightest smile.

"I'd love one." They eye each other for a few moments before Vicki walks off with his glass. Matt looks repulsively at Tyler, unable to accept what he's just witnessed.

"Please tell me you're not hooking up with my sister." He asks seriously, waving a french fry in his hand as he speaks.

"I'm not hooking up with your sister." He says equally serious. Matt scoffs, shaking his head as he looks down at his plate.

"You're such a dick."

Jeremy catches up with Vicki, who is rushing to get to the counter in the front of Mystic Grill.

"Hey, what's your deal? I mean, summer you act one way and then school starts and you can't be bothered."

"Look, Jeremy, I really appreciate all the pharmaceuticals, but you can't keep following me around like a lost puppy."

"When's the last time you had sex with a puppy?"

"Hey, keep it down," Vicki's voice is hushed, and she looks around nervously as Jeremy rolls his eyes, "I don't want to tell the whole world I deflowered Elena's kid brother."

"Yeah, and deflowered and deflowered." He says, trying to get her attention by touching her arm. Her attention is turned to him now, but not in the way he wanted.

"We hooked up a few times in a drug haze. It's over." Jeremy is hurt by her words, and looks away from her when she says the words he didn't want to hear: _It's over_. "You gotta back off before you ruin things between me and Tyler." Words even worse than the former: _Me and Tyler_. The words he dreaded the most.

"Oh come _on_ , the guy's a total douche. He only wants you for your ass." Vicki sighs as she looks up at Jeremy.

"Yeah? What do you want me for?" And with that, she walks away, bumping into him as she goes, and leaving Jeremy in disbelief and hurt.

Jeremy looks to her, then notices Caroline and Bonnie walk into the Grill together.

"His name is Stefan Salvatore." Caroline says dramatically, bobbing her straw in and out of her glass as she speaks. Bonnie listens intently, but is secretly amused by how obsessed her friend is over this guy. "He lives with his uncle up in that old Salvatore boarding house. He hasn't lived there since he was a kid. Military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini, and his favorite color is blue." They stop in their tracks as Caroline concludes her biography of Stefan Salvatore, and Bonnie looks at her in bafflement.

"You got all that in one day?" She asks, more matter-of-factly than as a question.

"Oh, please," Caroline swats at the air as if it's no big deal, "I got all that between third and fourth period. We're planning a June wedding." Bonnie shakes her head as Caroline greets another friend in the bar.

"I'm meeting Bonnie at the grill." Elena tells Jenna as she's about to walk out the front door.

"'Kay, have fun." Jenna says quickly, but stops in her tracks and turns toward Elena. "Wait, I got this. Don't stay out late, it's a school night." She places her hand on her hips and looks sternly at Elena, who just laughs at her Aunt's attempt at authority.

"Well done, Aunt Jenna." She smiles as Jenna flashes her hands in pride, smiling as well. Elena laughs her way to the door, and is surprised to see who's standing behind it when she opens it.

"Oh." She gasps, her heart beating fast in her chest. Stefan smiles shyly.

"Sorry, I was about to knock." Elena looks at him indefinitely, unsure what to really say. She's relieved that Stefan takes the opportunity instead. "I wanted to apologize for my disappearing act earlier. I know it was . . . strange."

"No worries," She manages to say, "I get it. Blood makes you squeamish." They both laugh at this, but Stefan's laugh is unsettling.

"Um, something like that. How's your leg?"

"Oh, it's fine. Just a scratch, barely." She laughs nervously now, hit with a sudden realization. "How did you know where I lived?"

"It's a small town. I asked the first person I saw." He nods at her assuringly, and she nods back. "Um," He reaches into his back pocket to reveal her diary, "I thought you might want this back." He hands her the green leather book, and she takes a hold of it.

"I must have dropped it," she breathes, "I - thank you." She stares at it self consciously, worrying that the worst has happened.

"Don't worry. I didn't . . . read it." Thankfully, it hadn't. She smiles as she regains her composure.

"No? Why not? Most people would have."

"Well, I . . . wouldn't want anyone to read mine." Her smile fades as she stares at him for a moment.

"You keep a journal?" She asks.

"Yeah, if I don't write it down, I forget it. Memories are too important."

"Yeah." She stares at him in awe yet again, excited that this person has so much in common with her. But her senses draw back to reality as she remembers where she was supposed to be at this moment. "I'm just gonna . . . umm, you don't have to stay out there." She smiles as she retreats back into her home, but Stefan remains outside. He takes a step closer to the threshold and looks at the framing of the door, but knows that without a proper invitation, he will not be able to go much farther.

"I'm fine." He calls to her, wishing there were some way he'd be allowed to enter her home without having to hear such specific words. It just wasn't fair. Elena's head pops back into view and she gives Stefan a confused smile. "Sorry, were you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting a friend." She just can't seem to stop smiling, and her internal smile grows bigger at a new idea. "Do you wanna come?"

"How's Elena doing?" Matt's voice cracks at the name, and he instantly regrets asking, especially Elena's best friend.

"Her mom and dad died. How do you think? She's putting on a good face, but it's only been four months."

"Has she said anything about me?" Matt asks, knowing in his mind that he shouldn't be asking this question, but not being able to hold it in much longer.

"Oh no. So not getting in the middle. You pick up the phone and call her." Bonnie says cautiously. Matt hesitates for a moment, shaking his head.

"I feel weird calling her. She broke up with me."

"Give it more time, Matt." Bonnie says softly, giving him a sad smile. Matt nods, hoping that time really can - and will - heal.

When Bonnie looks up to see who had just walked into the grill, she sees Elena walk in . . . with Stefan. When Matt turns around, he sees them too, and pretty soon everyone in the grill is looking at the girl who's parents died last spring with the mysterious new guy.

Matt feels his stomach drop at the sight, rolling his eyes and looking back at Bonnie. "More time, huh?" He retorts, earning a shrug from Bonnie. He stands up and walks over to the two, earning curious stares from Tyler Lockwood and Caroline Forbes.

"Hey, I'm Matt. Nice to meet you." Matt says politely, shaking Stefan's hand.

"Hi, Stefan." Matt smiles then looks over to Elena, not really knowing what to say.

"Hey." She smiles awkwardly.

"Hey."

At the table, Stefan, Elena, Caroline and Bonnie have a nice conversation to get to know more about Stefan.

"So," Caroline says, leaning in curiously, "you were born in Mystic Falls?"

"Mm-hmm. And moved when I was still young."

"Parents?" Bonnie smiles.

"My parents passed away." Everyone at the table remains silent for a moment, Bonnie glancing at Elena for a reaction.

"I'm sorry." Elena says empathetically, earning a _thank you_ nod from Stefan. "Any siblings?"

"None that I talk to." Stefan smiles at Elena. "I live with my uncle." Things are silent for a moment again, and Caroline takes this opportunity to interject.

"So, Stefan, if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow." She smiles flirtatiously, her chin in her hands and her eyelashes fluttering rapidly.

"It's a back-to-school thing at the falls." Bonnie informs him. Normally, Stefan wouldn't be caught dead a party like that. Sky-high testosterone and underage drinking doesn't sound like a great way to kick off his first night back to Mystic Falls, but when he looks at Elena, he starts to reconsider.

"Are you going?" He asks her, but before she can reply or even react, Bonnie immediately intervenes.

"Of course she is." Her smile beams at the two, and Elena smiles back, wondering whether she should be mad, or extremely happy. Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she looks back up at Stefan, who smiles back at her, admiring the beauty that he's memorized to a 'T'. Though they don't know it, they both have the same exact thought at the same exact moment: tomorrow may not be so bad after all.

* * *

Back at the Salvatore Boarding House, the sky is dark. There's no sound but the crickets on the ground and the owls in the trees. Stefan is inside, thinking about captivating Elena Gilbert and the party that he will see her at tomorrow night, and can't wipe the smile that's been plastered on his face since he first spoke to her.

Putting on a T-shirt to sleep in, Stefan hears his bedroom door click open and sees his uncle, Zach barge in holding up a newspaper with a scolding look on his face.

"You promised." He said sternly, reaching the spot where Stefan is paralyzed in place. Stefan snatches the newspaper from Zach, looking intently at the article. He sees two faces, neither of them familiar, with their names captioned underneath: Darren Malloy and Brooke Fenton. Next to the photos is the heading in large bold letters: **BODIES FOUND MUTILATED BY ANIMAL** \- _Two local residents reported missing were found dead after police discovered their abandoned vehicle on Highway._

Stefan shakes his head, confused as to why Zach brought him this article.

"This was an animal attack." He says, handing back the newspaper, but Zach doesn't take it. Instead, his hands remain on his hips and his eyes remain scoldingly on Stefan.

"Don't give me that. I know the game. You tear them up enough, they always suspect an animal attack. _You_ said you had it under control."

"And I do." Stefan looks at Zach, baffled that he could think such a thing of him when he knows how hard it's been for him.

"Please, Uncle Stefan. Mystic Falls is a different place now. It's been quiet for years, but there are people who still remember. And you being here, it's just going to stir things up."

"That's not my intention." Stefan shakes his head reassuringly, but Zach does not calm.

"Then what is? Why did you come back? After all this time, why now?"

"I don't have to explain myself." Stefan holds back his anger as Zach finally calms down.

"I know that you can't change what you are. But you don't belong here anymore." Stefan looks down, soaking in the words he's repeated in his mind for years. Zach could be right, but where else could there be for him to go?

"Where do I belong?"

"I can't tell you what to do. But coming back here was a mistake." Tossing the newspaper onto a footstool, Zach storms out of the room, leaving Stefan there in silence.

Somewhere in his mind, he's always known he shouldn't come back to Mystic Falls. Not just now, but the last few years, he's come home in hopes of . . . what? He doesn't even know himself. He'd leave without hesitation, but now that he's met Elena, he can't help but feel as though there's nowhere else he'd rather be.

Going in his dresser, he pulls out a book and opens it, taking out the hidden picture inside and holding it up to his face. That face. Katherine's face, Elena's face. He couldn't help but feel the guilt in his throat, swallowing it down like that would make it go away. The resemblance of the two is uncanny, and it's easy for Stefan to admit that this is what drew him in in the first place. He wanted - no - _had_ to make sure it wasn't Katherine. He knew it was impossible, that it couldn't be, and he was right. Elena is nothing like Katherine was, and he knows that now. So where, he wonders, should he go from here?


	3. Chapter 3

The next day in history class is a boring one, and not a single soul in the room can answer a question the teacher throws at them.

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle?" Mr. Tanner scans the room for a second, catching Bonnie doodling in her notebook. "Ms. Bennett?"

Bonnie looks up in surprise, but attempts to play it cool anyway.

"Um . . . a lot?" Snickers can be heard from around the room as Bonnie smiles cooly. "I'm not sure. Like a whole lot."

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett." Mr. Tanner presses, not caring much for her laid-back behavior. Bonnie looks down, hurt by his words. "Mr. Donovan? Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

"It's okay, Mr. Tanner. I'm cool with it." The class snickers again, and this time Mr. Tanner joins.

"Hmm. Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?"

"I'm sorry, I . . . I don't know." She replies.

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal excuses ended with summer break." Elena looked down in defeat, knowing full well that he was right. The class remains silent for a moment, then Stefan's voice cuts through the tension ridden air.

"There were 346 casualties." He says, catching Mr. Tanner's attention. "Unless you're counting local civilians."

"That's correct." Mr. Tanner replies, glancing back at Elena spitefully. "Mister . . ."

"Salvatore." Elena smiles at him, grateful for the save.

"Salvatore." Mr. Tanner repeats, tasting the foreign name in his mouth. "Any relations to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?" Stefan hesitates, thinking of his long family tree and long line of issues that comes with it.

"Distant."

"Well, very good. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."

"Actually, there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss." Mr. Tanner looks down. He'd always hated being corrected, much less by his own students. But as if being corrected wasn't enough, he was also being ridiculed. "The founder's archives are, uh, stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts. Mr. Tanner."

The class broke out in baffled snickers and scoffs, looking at Mr. Tanner and what his next move will be. Mr. Tanner just smiles sarcastically, fiddling with a book on his desk, all the while Stefan's eyes remain on him, payback for speaking so cruelly to his students - to Elena. And judging by the redness on his face, Stefan's plan had worked.

* * *

Stefan walks up the bridge towards the crowd of students scattered around the woods. A couple is making out against an illuminated gazebo, kids laugh and horse around near the bridge behind him, and almost every hand he sees is holding a beer or a cup with alcohol in it. He scans further, looking for Elena, but can't seem to find her. Instead, he focuses his hearing on her, hoping he'll be able to find the source from which her voice is coming from. He hears random girls, Caroline Forbes, a couple making out - no doubt the one by the gazebo - then finally catches her name in a different voice.

"Just admit it, Elena." Bonnie says.

"Oh, okay. So he's a little pretty."

"He has that romance novel stare." Stefan looks up at the source, discovering Bonnie and Elena talking by the bonfire, and smiles at Bonnie's flattering comment. He begins walking towards them, excited to see someone he knows, but Caroline stops him in his tracks before he can make two steps.

"Hey! You made it!" She says excitedly, attempting to look into his eyes. Even though he'd much rather be talking to someone else at the moment, Stefan remains polite.

"I did." He nods, smiling.

"Well, let's get you a drink."

"Well, I'm-"

"Oh, come on." She drags, grabbing hold of his hand and pulling him away from Bonnie and Elena's sights.

"So where is he?" Bonnie asks Elena, scanning the woods for the hottie.

"I don't know. You tell me, you're the psychic one."

"Right, I forgot! Okay, so give me a sec. Grams says I have to concentrate."

"Wait, you need a crystal ball. Uhmm . . ." Elena turns around, scanning the ground for an object, then turns back to Bonnie with a beer bottle held in front of her. "Ta-da!" Bonnie laughs, shaking her head at Elena's silliness. Reaching her hand out, she grabs the bottle, as well as Elena's hand, then spaces out for a few seconds. Elena looks at her confused, laughing it off a bit, then Bonnie abruptly snatches her hand away.

"What?" Elena asks.

"That was weird. When I touched you, I saw a crow." Elena's attention had been caught, immediately reminding her of the crow she'd seen at the cemetery the day prior.

"What?" She repeats.

"A crow. There was fog, a man." Elena's heart beats a little faster, shocked by the accuracy of Bonnie's words. Now that she was thinking about it, she had thought she saw a man in the cemetery too, just a silhouette, but it was there. And the fog. It engulfed her, and she thought she was crazy to think they were all connected in some way. "I'm drunk." Bonnie interrupts her reverie, taking the bottle from Elena's hand. "It's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Ok, I'm gonna get a refill." Bonnie walks away quickly, not wanting the conversation to carry on any longer, leaving Elena alone with her own thoughts.

"Okay? Bonnie!" But she doesn't slow down. Defeated, she turns back around to the fire, but standing in her way is the boy she'd hoped to see all night.

"Hi." He smiles.

"Hi." Elena laughs, looking down in embarrassment.

"I did it again, didn't I?" Stefan asks, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah." She laughs again.

"I'm sorry." He smiles, and Elena smiles back, but the prediction that Bonnie had made kept her a bit shaken. It wasn't much of a prediction because it had already happened, but Bonnie didn't know that. How could she have known something without actually having known it?

"You're upset about something." Stefan says, expressing genuine concern.

"Oh, uh, no it's-it's just Bonnie. She's . . ." She thinks about it for a moment, realizing that this is all just silly. Whatever she thinks is happening isn't really happening, and she should just enjoy the party. "You know what? Nevermind. You're . . . you're here." Stefan feels his heart skip a beat as he smiles, forgetting all about his worries.

"I'm here." He agrees, taking in Elena's beautiful smile. He hadn't seen that smile since 1864, and even now it's just as captivating, just as warming.

They walk together in silence, both unsure of what to say, until Elena breaks the ice.

"You know, you're kind of the talk of the town." She smiles.

"Am I?"

"Mm-hmm. Mysterious new guy, oh yeah." She laughs as she looks at him, awaiting a reply.

"Well, you have the mysterious thing going too." Elena's face contorts, confused as to how she could possibly be on the same spectrum as mysterious. "Twinged in sadness."

"What makes you think that I'm sad?" She asks, wondering if maybe all this time she thought she'd been putting on a brave face, she's really just been letting her sadness shine through.

"Well, we did meet in a graveyard." Stefan recounted, earning a smile from Elena.

"Right. Well, no, technically we met in the men's room." Stefan and Elena laugh at this, and Elena's mood is suddenly brought down a notch after thinking about why she felt the way she did. "You don't want to know, it's . . . . it's not exactly party chit-chat."

"Well, I've never really been very good at, uh, chit-chat." Elena thinks for a moment, then decides to let out what she's been holding back.

"Last spring . . . my parents' car drove off of a bridge into the lake. And I was in the backseat and I survived, but . . . they didn't. So that's my story." She continues walking in silence only to realize Stefan has stopped in his tracks and stands still behind her. She turns to face him, waiting for him to say something. He looks at her, wishing he could tell her everything that would bring her comfort, but decides on a safer route instead.

"You won't be sad forever, Elena." He says, making her smile sadly and nod in agreement.

Deep in the woods, things with Vicki and Tyler get heated as they kiss and fondle against a tree. Tyler's kisses trail from her lips to her neck as he attempts to take off her sweater.

"No, Ty, I'm not having sex against a tree." Vicki laughs, shoving his hands away from her clothing.

"C'mon, it would be hot." He coos, trailing more kisses against her neck, resisting her shoving hands. Jeremy walks through the woods with a beer in his hand, knowing that he shouldn't be following Vicki and Tyler into the woods, but glad that he has when he hears what's going on.

"For who? No, it's not going to happen. It's not going to happen, not here, not like this. No." Tyler doesn't ease up, in fact he only gets more aggressive. "I said no. I said no!" Vicki panics, attempting to shove Tyler off of her, but he just won't budge. "Ow, that hurts!"

"Hey leave her alone!" Jeremy's voice causes Tyler to finally come to his senses, allowing Vicki to successfully shove him off of her. She looks at him in bafflement, unsure of what to think of the situation. Tyler and Jeremy look at each other, both just as furious as the other.

"You know, you're starting to get on my nerves, Gilbert." Tyler threatens, moving closer to Jeremy.

"Don't, Tyler." Vicki hits his arm, breaking his stare, "Get the hell away from me." Tyler looks at her angrily, not really knowing where the source of the anger is coming from, but not being able to contain it.

"Wow," he says, "Vicki Donovan says 'no'. That's a first." Vicki and Jeremy watch him walk away, unable to process what had just happened.

"I didn't need your help." Vicki says softly, despite having been very glad that he'd come to her rescue just now.

"It seems like you did."

"He was just drunk." Vicki shouts defensively.

" _I'm_ drunk. Am I throwing myself at you?" He was growing impatient with Vicki's constant acceptance of Tyler's behavior.

"No," she spits, "you're worse. You wanna talk to me. Get to know me. See into my soul and screw and screw and screw until you're done with me." He's not surprised by her words, or really even fazed by them. He's been dealing with her insecurity since they first started hanging out. The only problem now was that she was letting Tyler get away with taking advantage of that.

"Is that what you think?" He asks, stepping closer to her, looking sternly into her eyes. She's on the verge of crying now, but her anger shines brighter than her sorrow.

"That's what I know." Her voice cracks, and she leaves him standing in the middle of the woods by himself with his own thoughts, wondering why she continued to hurt him.

On the bridge, Elena and Stefan are deep in conversation still, standing over the river with the crisp cool breeze hitting their skin.

"I like Bonnie." Stefan tells Elena, "She seems like a good friend.

"Best friend in the world." Elena replies sincerely, a goofy smile plastered on her lips. Stefan looks behind her to see Matt Donovan staring at the both of them on the bridge, nothing short of bitterness clear in his expression.

"And Matt, he can't seem to, uh," Elena looks in his direction, catching eye contact with Matt, "take his eyes off of us."

"Matt's," she begins, struggling to find the right words, "that friend since childhood that you start dating because you owe it to yourselves to see if you can be more." Stefan smiles, leaning against the bridge.

"And?"

"And then my parents died. And everything changes." Stefan watches Elena look down at her cup, her beautiful brown hair draping in front of her face like a window curtain. He feels responsible for her parents' death in some way. He knows it wasn't his fault, he just wishes there had something more he could have done. "Anyway," she continues, "Matt and I, together we just, I don't know, it wasn't, um . . . it wasn't . . ." She couldn't find the right words, but Stefan knew exactly what she wanted to say.

"Passionate." He finished for her. She smiled slightly at him, his gaze so full of promise and wisdom.

"No." She says, "No, it wasn't passionate." At this point, he's lost in her eyes. So familiar yet so much sweeter, so much more naive. And her _smile_. What a beauty she was, truly, he can already imagine his hand on her cheek, his lips on hers. But his lust is soon confused with a stronger desire, a desire he had almost completely forgotten about until just now.

"Hey, um, are you okay?" Elena's voice brings him back to reality, and suddenly he's afraid of what he might do. "Your eyes, it's just, it's-"

"Oh, um," Stefan quickly buries his face in his hands, averting his face from her vision, "Yeah, no, it's, um . . . It's nothing." The longer he attempts to act like everything is fine, the stronger the hunger grows. Much like at the graveyard, Stefan's blood begins to boil, and he knows he won't be able to tolerate it much longer. "Are you thirsty? I'm gonna get us a drink." He grabs her cup quickly and hurries away, leaving Elena alone and very confused on the bridge.

In the woods, Vicki has been walking for what feels like hours, and just wants to go home at this point. Her feet have begun to drag, and it's getting stuffy in the leather jacket she'd decided to wear tonight. Tyler's favorite jacket.

As she continues on her walk, she's suddenly engulfed in misty smoke. It's coming in from every direction, leaving Vicki very paranoid and confused. She feels someone lurking behind her, she's sure of it, and catches a quick glance behind her.

"Jeremy?" She calls, "Is that you?" Though something in her knows it's not Jeremy or even Tyler. The smoke rises further, and she's suddenly very aware of just how alone she is in this moment. Instead of sticking around to see what's happening, she continues walking the way she'd been, but can't shake the feeling that there's someone behind her. Every instinct is telling her to make a run for and don't look back, but she's still, paralyzed with fear. She looks behind her again.

"Jeremy?" Still, no one answer. Her heart begins racing, her hands shake. She's afraid of what she's walked herself into.

Turning around again, she continues to walk, but before she can even take so much as another step, a dark figure lunges at her, and then there's darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

At the party, Elena watches as all of the party-goers enjoy their night of irresponsible drinking and reckless behavior, hoping that she'll see Stefan again. He disappeared on her without so much as an explanation, and quite frankly, she's worried about him. She looks anxiously around, but has yet to find him anywhere.

"Looking for someone?" A very familiar, husky voice interrupts her search, and when she looks toward the source of the voice, there he is. Matt, with his sweet smirk and bright blue eyes to greet her.

"Hey." She says, realizing this is the first time they've really talked one-on-one since the breakup. Matt is quick to bring it up. Stefan walks out of the woods feeling much better, but walks into something that makes him feel a different kind of pain.

"When you broke up with me you said it was because you needed some time alone." He argues, and suddenly a wave of guilt washes over her. "You don't look so alone to me."

"Matt, you don't understand, it's-"

"That's okay, Elena." He stops her there, knowing that arguing won't get him anywhere with her. He'll give her space, but he's not ready to let her go yet. "You do what you have to do. I just wanna let you know that . . . I still believe in us. And I'm not giving up on that." He walks away, letting her digest his words alone. She calls after him, but he's said all he needs to say to her. He's gone.

Stefan starts towards Elena, eager to comfort her, but her blond friend, Caroline, stops him in his tracks.

"Hey!" She chimes. "There you are! Have you been down to the falls yet? Because they are really cool at night. And I can show you." She stands painfully close to him, and he feels uncomfortable in her presence. "If you want." This last statement drips with lust, her eyes clearly hungry for something he can't give her. She's a sweet girl, but he has other things to attend to.

"I think you've had too much to drink." He smiles politely, but she doesn't give up.

"Well, of course I have." She laughs, "So-"

"Caroline," he interrupts her before she can continue, "you and me, it's not gonna happen." Caroline's heart sinks, her smile fading slowly. "I'm sorry." And without another word, he leaves her there, more than happy that he's finally able to rejoin Elena in conversation. He's not afraid to admit that he enjoys talking to her.

"I was wondering who abducted you, but now I know." She says as he approaches her. She gestures toward Caroline. He smiles shyly.

"Is she like that with all the guys?"

"No," Elena confirms, "you're fresh meat. She'll back off eventually."

"Mm." The sound of beer bottles hitting the concrete alert Elena's attention, and she soon realizes that it's her little brother stumbling drunkenly out of the woods.

"You've gotta be kidding me." She scoffs. Jeremy hears her, looking over for a split second, but continues waking anyway.

"What is it?" Stefan asks, concern in his voice. Jeremy's face doesn't show anger this time, but hurt and betrayal.

"My brother."

"The drunk one?"

"That would be the one. Excuse me." She's so fed up with her irresponsible little brother that she doesn't even bother with the polite tone anymore. Jeremy's really done it this time.

"Need some help?" He offers.

"Trust Me, you're not gonna want to witness this. Jeremy!" Jeremy hears her calls, but ignores them anyway. He can't be bothered with his annoying, overprotective sister right now. "Jeremy! Jeremy, where the hell are you going?"

"I don't want to hear it." He spits. Before she has time to retort, Jeremy trips and falls face first into the person he was looking for all night.

"Vicki?" Her neck is smothered with blood, huge gashes endlessly pouring. "No, oh my god. It's Vicki." He tells Elena, desperate for help.

"Oh my god." She breathes. Neither of them know what to do. Jeremy reaches his hand up to examine her neck, and abruptly she gasps for life, eyes wide and riddled with fear.

They both manage to pick her up and carry her to the party together, Elena determined to get her help and Jeremy, fighting the questions in his head; _is she still alive? Will she be okay?_

"Help!" Elena yells, catching the attention of almost everyone at the party.

"Vicki?" Matt is the first one to respond. "Vicki? What the hell?" He rushes to her side, his heart racing a million miles per minute. Jeremy fights the urge to cry, placing her gently down onto a bench. There's commotion all around her, and she's losing blood fast. Stefan sees the commotion and wants nothing more that to help her, but there's a different urge that can and _will_ take over if he stands anywhere near her. But what's more important, this was an act of a vampire. He was sure of it. But it wasn't him, that he was even more sure of. So who had done this? Who else like him has come to Mystic Falls?

He just stares painfully at Vicki and the crowd around her, fighting the miserable urge he's come so far with suppressing. Behind all of the chaos, Matt sees Stefan's pained expression, and suddenly everything makes sense. Stefan quickly walks away before things get worse than they already have, leaving Matt raging and hurt.

Back at the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan runs through the front door, looking for Zach. He barges into Zach's room, out of breath and determined.

"What's going on?" Zach asks, looking up from his work.

"Someone else was attacked tonight, Zach, and it wasn't me." Zach watches as Stefan runs up to his own room, searching for what, he did not know. But in this moment, he believes him. He's always known Stefan to be a good man, and his accusations were falsely directed.

Stefan opens the door to his bedroom, not really sure what to expect when he opened it, but he knew it wasn't going to be good.

A crow sounds by the window, and as Stefan looks over, it flies into the room, landing on the ceiling and resting there. For a split second, he's completely oblivious. But reality sinks in soon enough, and everything starts to come together perfectly. He knows he's the one behind the murders and "animal attacks". He knows he's the mysterious vamp visitor in town, other than himself, of course. And he knows that, right now, he's behind him.

Stefan turns slowly, not knowing what either of them will say or do, and is almost afraid of what is about to ensue.

"Damon." He states, looking directly into the man's piercing eyes, that smirk he's flashes so many times in the past playing on his lips. He blinks, observing Stefan for a second, because it has been a while.

"Hello, brother." He finally says. He walks in tantalizingly slow, both brothers never taking their eyes off of one another. Damon stops in front of Stefan, observing the objects in his room. My, how long it's been.

"The crow's a bit much, don't you think ?" Stefan offers, already wanting to cut to the chase. The crow sings again as Damon raises his eyebrows.

"Wait till you see what I can do with the fog." Damon challenges Stefan with his eyes, but Stefan has had enough of his games already.

"When'd you get here?"

"Well, I couldn't miss your first day of school." He jests mirthlessly, circulating the room. He laughs to himself, shakes his head, and looks at Stefan. "Your hair's different. I like it." He turns back to the bookcase, observing the pictures and objects it holds on its shelves.

"It's been fifteen years, Damon."

"Thank _God_. I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look," he chuckles to himself, continuing around the room, "did not suit you." Stefan watches cautiously as Damon circles around him, smirk always on his lips. "Remember, Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads."

"Why are you here?" He interjects impatiently. Damon stops in his tracks, feigning a look of betrayal and hurt.

"I missed my little brother."

"You hate small towns. It's boring, there's nothing for you to do." He replies, attempting to convince him to leave town, but he knows this will have little to no affect on his dear brother.

"I've managed to keep myself busy." He smirks again, that damn smirk. Stefan's patience is wearing thin now.

"You know, you left that girl alive tonight. That was very clumsy of you."

"Ah," he groans, "that could be a problem . . . for you." Stefan shakes his head, both at his expression and his statement. The same as he was fifteen years ago and the same he's always been. Careless. Reckless. But most importantly, sneaky.

"Why are you here _now_?" Stefan offers him one last chance to answer the question. Of course, he doesn't get one.

"I could ask you the same question." He replies, "However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word." Stefan's paralyzed in his tracks. "Elena."

An Animal Control Unit vehicle is parked outside of the party as teenagers head home one-by-one. Vicki's placed into a gurney and shoved into an ambulance, which Matt is more than eager to jump into himself. He's not sure what's going on, but right now his main concern is for his sister's well-being.

Elena watches as Matt rides away in the ambulance with his sister, her stomach churning at the image of her bloodied neck.

"Hey," Bonnie approaches Elena, interrupting her disturbing thoughts, "We're gonna go to Mainline Coffee, wait for news." Elena nods, looking over at her brother, shaken up and panicked.

"I gotta take Jeremy home."

"Elena," Bonnie responds, wanting to clear the air of its polluted paranoia and superstitions, "there's no way I'm psychic. I know that. But whatever I saw, or I think I saw . . . I have this feeling . . ."

"Bonnie, what?" Elena urges her to continue, not sure where she's going with this. Bonnie hesitates, but looks sure of what she's about to say. She never looks away from Elena.

"That it's just the beginning." The beginning of what? This night has just been too long for anyone to grasp. Elena looked away, honestly freaked out by the whole situation, and soon found herself wondering where Stefan had gone in all of this mayhem.

"She took my breath away." Damon tells Stefan, still circulating the room, as if studying his prey. "Elena. She's a dead ringer for Katherine." Stefan approaches Damon cautiously, just waiting for him to make a move. "Is it working, Stefan? Being around her, being in her world? Does it make you feel _alive_?"

"She's not Katherine." He says, knowing that's precisely why Damon has taken an interest in her.

"Well, let's hope not. We both know how that ended." Stefan frowns at Damon, studying his every move. This banter can't go on much longer, and he's not strong enough to take him. Not now. "Tell me something, when was the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?"

Stefan scoffs. "I know what you're doing, Damon, it's not gonna work." He starts to turn away, but Damon yanks his arm so he's facing him again.

"Yeah? C'mon," he's getting aggressive now, impatient, "don't you crave a little?"

"Stop it." Stefan warns, but Damon shoves him, ignoring his warnings.

"Let's do it," He breathes, "together. I saw a couple girls out there." Stefan blocks yet another shoving hand, realizing that this conversation is leading to nothing but trouble. "Or just, let's just cut to the chase, let's just go straight for Elena." Stefan takes an aggressive shove at Damon now, the rage in him building and building by the second.

"Stop it!" He screams.

"Imagine what her blood tastes like!" Damon shouts in return, and now Stefan's eyes are beginning to change for the third time tonight. "I can."

"I said _stop_!" Stefan's had enough. He reveals his sharp fangs and lunges for his big brother, sending them both crashing through a glass window and falling to the ground beneath them. Stefan takes a minute to regain his strength, but Damon, being a human blood drinking maniac, is already planning his next move.

As Stefan attempts to stand on his two feet, Damon watches him struggle from behind in a nearby hedge.

"I was impressed." He states, earning Stefan's attention. "I give it a six. Missing style, but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole face, ahh-" he stops to make a ridiculous face and even more ridiculous sounds, "-thing. It was good." Stefan is back on his feet now as Damon laughs amusedly.

"You know, it's all fun and games, Damon, huh? But wherever you go, people die." Damon shrugs.

"That's a given."

"Not here. I won't allow it." Damon tilts his head at the challenge, knowing full well that there's nothing that's going to stop him from doing what he needs to get done in this town.

"I'll take that as an invitation."

"Damon, please, after all of these years can't we just give it a rest?" The pain and exhaustion in his voice is apparent, but Damon doesn't let up.

"I promised you an eternity of misery. So, I'm just keeping my word."

"Just stay away from Elena." He's almost begging now, but mercy was never something Damon grew fond of. He looks down at Stefan's finger, feigning confusion and concern.

"Where's your ring?" He asks, and suddenly Stefan's middle finger feels lighter. He rubs the place where his ring should be, but isn't. "Oh, you know, the sun's coming up in a couple of hours and, poof, ashes to ashes." Stefan doesn't press him any further. The tears in his eyes make his vision foggy, but he doesn't need to see to tell that Damon isn't going away. Damon let's out an amused chuckle, taking a few steps towards Stefan.

"Relax," he says, raising his hand up to Stefan, "it's right here." Stefan hesitates to grab it, unsure of what Damon's going to do, but he lets him grab it and slide it safely back onto his finger where it belongs. He watches him do it, waiting patiently for him to finish, then suddenly the veins in his eyes are showing, his fangs are out, and his hand is around Stefan's neck.

It all happens too fast for Stefan to respond. Damon throws Stefan across the lot with one effortless shove, and Stefan hits the shack before falling onto the ground. Damon's in front of him in a gust of wind, standing over him angrily.

"You should know better than to think you're stronger than me. You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people." Stefan looks weakly up at Damon, catching his breath, "I wouldn't try it again." Before Stefan can respond, there's rummaging coming from within the boarding house, putting a smirk on Damon's face again.

"I think we woke Zach up. Sorry, Zach." He whistles as he walks away from Stefan, leaving him to worry about Elena's safety, and the safety of the town he swore to protect.

Back at the party, Jeremy downs the last of his beer as he watches the police cars light up the night air, the vision of Vicki still engraved in his mind. Elena stands next to him, noticing the bottle in his hand but not bothering to pick a fight with him about it now.

"You okay?" She places a consoling hand on his shoulder but he moves away from it, his breath still caught in his throat. "I called Jenna, she's on her way." She'd figured this would get him to stop drinking the beer, but he reached his hand up for another sip anyway. "Those people in uniforms," she began, "last time I checked, they're the police." She watches as he takes a huge swig from the bottle again, then throws it behind them carelessly. She looks at him, unsure of how many more times she's going to have to lecture him.

"People are gonna stop giving you breaks, Jer. They just don't care anymore. They don't remember that our parents are dead because they've got their own lives to deal with. The rest of the world has moved on. You should try too." She speaks to him softly, encouragingly, but he's hearing none of her hypocritical words.

"I've seen you in the cemetery writing in your diary, is that . . . is that supposed to be you moving on?" Elena shakes her head at her words, not because she's being defensive, but because she knows he's right. How can she expect Jeremy to move on when he sees her everyday doing the exact opposite.

"Mom and Dad wouldn't have wanted this." She says this more to herself than to Jeremy, but inside his own mind, he'd been thinking the same thing.

* * *

"Are you sober yet?" Bonnie asks Caroline, her eyes full of concern and motherly protection. Caroline takes a deep breath as she looks up at Bonnie.

"No." Is all she says as she buries her face in her hands again.

"Keep drinking. I gotta get you home. I gotta get _me_ home." She chuckles at this last bit, but Caroline isn't feeling humorous.

"Why didn't he go for me? You know," She asks Bonnie abruptly. Bonnie just stares at her, not really knowing what to say. "How come the guys that I want never want me?"

"I'm not touching that." Bonnie says plainly, shaking her head. She knows better than to attempt to console a drunk Caroline. It's never smart even when she's sober.

"I'm inappropriate. I _always_ say the wrong thing. And . . . Elena always says the right thing." Bonnie shifts in her seat uncomfortably, not wanting to get in between her two best friends. "God, she doesn't even try! And he just picks her. And she's always the one that everyone picks. For everything! And I try . . . _so_ hard, and . . . I'm never the one . . . that . . ."

"It's not a competition, Caroline." Bonnie stops her, shaking her head yet again. She stares at Caroline, hoping her words will convince her, but Caroline just looks up at her as if she's just had a epiphany.

"Yeah it is."

At the hospital, Matt sits at Vicki's bedside, determined to be here when she wakes up. He can't stand to see her like this, and he feels terribly guilty for not being there to protect her from whatever did this to her. Or _who_ ever did this to her. Whatever is going on, he's determined to find out, and make things right. For Vicki.

Suddenly, her breathing becomes less steady, and her eyes are opening ever so slightly.

"Vick," he breathes, a wave of relief washing over him. "Hey, hey, it's okay. It's gonna be okay."

"Matt . . . " she chokes, the words pushing themselves out of her throat harshly.

"Shh, don't try to talk, okay? You're fine." She just looks at him, swallows and tries again.

"Vampire." She whispers. Matt watches her drift again as he ponders the word in his mind. _Vampire_? That's nonsense. I'll have to let them know to ease up on the pain medication.

But with the way Stefan's been acting since he mysteriously showed up to town, my mind plays fact or myth. It adds up, but the only thing that doesn't is the fact that _vampires don't exist_. After too long off considering the thought in his head, he decides he'll ask her about it in the morning.

* * *

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I couldn't have been more wrong. I thought that I could smile and nod my way through it. Pretend like it would all be okay._

I had a plan. I wanted to change who I was. Create a life with someone new. Someone without the past.

 _Without the pain._

Someone alive.

 _But it's not that easy. The bad things stay with you._

They follow you. You can't escape them. As much as you want to.

 _All you can do is be ready for the good. So when it comes, you invite it in. Because you need it. I need it._

When she looked out her window whilst writing in her diary, Elena saw Stefan standing outside her front lawn, looking up at her from below. She quickly got up and rushed to the front door.

"I know it's late." He said when she opened the door, "But I needed to know that you were okay." She smiled weakly.

"You know, for months, that's all anyone's wondered about me. If I'll be okay."

"And what do you tell them?"

"That I'll be fine."

"Do you ever mean it?" She ponders this question, looking in his eyes, tired and sad.

"Ask me tomorrow." She says simply. He looks at her sadly, wondering if this night could've gone any worse. But just when he gives up on today, she says one more thing that makes the entire day worth it. "It's warmer in the house, we can talk." She steps aside, smiling sweetly at him. "Would you like to come in?" He smiles, nods, and says, "yes." And like she'd promised, they'd spent the entire night talking, blissfully unaware of Damon's recently decided plans with Caroline Forbes.


End file.
